Simply Socks Yarn Co. Blog

Trick or Treat Contest!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Hey, kids, you don't have to go trick-or-treating to get some fun, free stuff!  Answer the two questions below, before midnight on Oct 31, and you could win surprise Halloween gift from SSYC!

What's your favorite Halloween candy?

What was your favorite Halloween costume?

Just leave your answers in the comments below, and I'll announce the winner here after the 31st.  You don't have to leave your e-mail address- you'll find out if you won at the same time as everyone else- by visiting here on Wednesday!

And the package is a surprise- but I'll hint that it includes fibery goodness and some edible tidbits.

And I thought my Hedera's were good...

And then I saw these.  And there's a pattern.  Knee high Hedera's.  If I had the legs for this, I would be ALL ABOUT IT.

So I shipped off my Hedera socks to my Toasty Toes pal today.  I'm going to have to knit that pattern for myself soon b/c I totally fell in love with them. I washed and then blocked them with my spanky new pair of sock blockers, and then shipped them off to.... well you'll have to wait for her to get them so I don't spoil the surprise.  I just hope they fit.  And, of course, I included some tasty bits- chocolate and various teas.

**My Hedera's are Ruby Red merino, from Fleece Artist.  I'm expecting a large Fleece Artist shipment in 2 weeks.  Ruby Red, and lots of other colors, will arrive then.

Want another handy link?  From the blog of Mona Strickt, who wrote my other favorite pattern, the Embossed Leaves socks from the Winter '05 Interweave Knits.... sizing options for that pattern. Check it out!

On another note, Joe and I were in the basement last Saturday morning, searching through the piles of laundry looking for socks.  We have a Saturday morning ritual of going to the market and breakfast.  This requires clean clothes. It had been a loooong week, and you know what it's like when you haven't done laundry for many days... you'll take just about anything that doesn't smell like feet.  Joe finds a pair of clean socks and sacrifices them for his lovely wife.

"Oooh, thank--- wait, these aren't handknit," and I scrunched up my nose.

"No, they're clean."

Touché.

Meilenweit Socks- DONE!

After about week of no knitting, I have finally finished the toe of my Meilenweit Mega Boot Stretch socks (otherwise known as yet-another-pair-for-someone-else-that-I-would-like-to-keep-for-myself).  Yeah, a week with no knitting.  I started having some wrist and hand pain and thought I should take it easy rather than make it worse, though I think it's more related to poor hand positioning when I type.  Which I do ALL DAY LONG.  I do not recommend going a week without knitting.  It's not fun.  I know, I know, boo hoo for poor ickle me.

So here are the socks that I'm giving Joe's dad for Christmas (again, NO ONE had better tell him... you know who you are!).  I like Joe's dad a lot; he's like a dad to me and deserves a good pair of socks.  But that doesn't mean that I wouldn't keep these for myself if they fit.  I really liked knitting with the Mega Boot Stretch.  It was kinda addictive watching the colors change.  I would finish one color change and then want to keep knitting to see what was next... then I would finish that and want to see what was next... you know how this ends.  It doesn't.

So, of course, having finished one project, I'm on to a new one.  I mean, I only have ONE other project in progress right now, the log cabin squares, so I had to start a new one.  It's been quite awhile since I have only had one project in the queue.  *Uh, that pesky Debbi Bliss baby kimono from over a year ago doesn't count b/c I've resigned myself to not caring if I finish it.  It's just not that interesting.

So I've started the Feather and Fan pattern from the book Socks Socks Socks, using the Claudia Hand Painted merino in the Stormy Days colorway.  So many people ordered the Claudia yarn this week, and I needed to follow suit.  I'm a follower.  What can I say?  I know it.

Good TV tonight- The Office!  I actually put down the knitting for a half hour for that.

Lexie Barnes Knitting Bags

SSYC is now a retailer of Lexie Barnes knitting bags!  These wonderful bags feature superb quality, fun fabrics, tool pockets, and just look cool.  You'll now find lots of these in the Accessories section of the store. I can't decide what style I want to snag for myself yet.

And in honor of Socktoberfest, all the Flo bags are 15% off until Oct. 31!  These are the perfect size for a sock project.... or two, and all the tools you need.  Take a look at the four fabrics this bag comes in- Dutch Treat, Makiko, Neptune, and Little Miss Perfect.  *2 days ago, the above bolded percentage read "10% off", really they are 15% off until Oct. 31.

SSYC is also carrying the full size Lady B knitting bag, and two sizes of Mini bags.  The small Mini Micro bag is perfect for your Chibis and tape measure- and keeps those stitch markers from flying about.  The Mini Mega bag can be a large tool bag, or even fits a sock project, yarn, and needles.  The Mini bags are shown below in Dutch Treat and Little Miss Perfect, but are available in all four fabrics.

And FINALLY, my scarf is off.... to Canada!

I've finally shipped off the scarf for the International Scarf Exchange.  I finished this thing at least a month ago, but got way involved in the new website design, ordering Claudia's yarn (and new accessories for the store...), and the tea and chocolate swap... and various other things.  So it's out in the mail today.  I really hope that the person I'm knitting for likes it and it's her taste.  I chose the color, Interlacements Toasty Toes in 206-Las Vegas Brights, b/c she likes very bright colors.  I chose the pattern, Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf, because I didn't want something too busy to compete with the color of the yarn.  And, selfishly, I really wanted a "mindless" knit.  You know, sometimes you just want something that you don't have to count too much or thing too much about.

I think I made a good choice.  Keeping fingers crossed.

More Sale Yarn!

Happy Socktoberfest!  SSYC has added more yarn to the "Sale!" section of the store!

The new sale yarns include a few Regia 100 gram balls, plus all the remaining Cherry Tree Hill Super Glitz yarn that we have in stock.  Cherry Tree Hill has discontinued this yarn, so what you see in the sale section is all that is available to us.  It's all 20% off!

At left is a pic of the Glitz socks I made in the Birches colorway last year.  These socks really knit up quickly b/c I used US 4 needles with this DK weight yarn.  Quite a nice change from the US 1 needles I ususally use with fingering weight yarn.

Claudia Hand Painted Yarn

Oh, my.  This is some tastiness.  I mean, I'm slightly overwhelmed, being surrounded by so much of this lovely yarn.  25 colors of Claudia's Hand Painted fingering weight yarn have arrived at SSYC- many of them her newer colors. So what do you think of these?

Above: Carousel, Turquoise Jeans, Blue Terra Cotta; Below (all new): Leopard, Black Walnut and Oops!

And here are my favorites: Red Wagon, Eat Your Veggies, Ingrid's Blues

And, oh, how I love the Red Wagon.  I don't know what it is about that color combination, but it's definitely my fave.  How about you?

The Fleece Artist goes to...

SHANIDY!

I randomly picked the winner of the mini-contest; for everyone who responded to the website contest before midnight last night, you got entered into a second contest for the prototype skein of the SSYC Special Edition colorway from Fleece Artist.  Who's the winner?  Shanidy!  Give her some love, either here or on her blog.  And I happen to know that Shanidy has a deep appreciation of Fleece Artist, b/c I'm her dealer.  But don't we all adore it?

You can still enter the big contest, which doesn't actually end until November 15.  Shanidy's prize was just for entering before midnight on Tuesday.

 

Earlier in the week, you might have noticed the addition of more Meilenweit yarn in the store.  Mega Boot Stretch in color 703 (shown above), 704, 711 (shown above). and 717.  Cotton solids in 43-Yellow and 62-Bright Red.  Cotton Fantasy in 803, 806, and 813.  Cotton Spirit (fun stripes) in 3007 and 3008.  Mega Boot Stretch Soft Color in 506.  Wool solids in 1101-White, 1105-Charcoal, 1106-Black, 1141-Navy, 1288-Olive, 1294-Blue, 1324-Bright Red, 1328-Red Mouline, 1332- Plum.

And the Claudia Handpainted fingering weight yarn?  When I called her to check the progress on Monday I was told, "I'm looking at the boxes right now.  They're big."  Yeah, apparently I ordered a lot.  My pretties should arrive in a matter of days.

I'm off to finish the toe of my current sock project so I can cast on some Claudia.  I don't think Joe's dad would want toe-less socks for Christmas.

Wow... you ROCK

By the end of the day yesterday, I had already received over 50 responses to the contest, and that was just from regular blog readers in a few hours!  The specific suggestions of products you would like to see are very helpful!  So if you want to e-mail me any more specific products/accessories you would like to see in the store, please do at allison@simplysockyarn.com.

One of you asked if you get anything for entering the contest early.  What a great idea!  So, everyone who enters the contest before midnight tonight will be entered in a special contest to win a very special skein of yarn.  At least it's special to me. It's the prototype skein of the SSYC colorway dyed by Fleece Artist for our first anniversary.  I've been holding onto this for a special occasion, and I think that the unveiling of the new website, and the awesomeness (is that a word??) of you all calls for something!  I really appreciate all the feedback and suggestions you provide. **Anyone who has already answered is entered in this contest too, so you don't need to respond a second time.  Just once before Tuesday, Oct. 17 at midnight.  I'll announce the winner later this week.

Oh, I've been meaning to share this since Friday.....  I went to my bank on Friday, and since the line to the drive up was crazy long, I walked inside to make deposits.  As I stood at the counter, the teller, I'll call her Elaine (b/c, well, that's her name) looked up at me and says,

"I just have to ask.  What is Simply Socks Yarn Company??"  I get that question a lot. 

"Well, I own an internet store that sells sock yarn for knitters."  I get the look, which usually means that person is thinking "You mean, people knit their own socks when they can get them at (insert big box store here)?  You're not going to be in business long." 

Elaine's response is actually "Wow. What do these socks look like?"

"I'm wearing a pair now."  And I am- the the blue socks that Leah knit for me last winter in the Holiday Sock Exchange that Ariene hosted on her blog.

"Oh, back up so I can see!" And I do, only she can't see the detail.  So I step forward and lift up my foot and plop it right on the counter, which is chest high.  Really.  I'm surprised I didn't split my pants.

Elaine looked slightly shocked.  But she really liked the socks.

New website, new contest

Hey, all you sock knitters, Simply Socks Yarn Company has redesigned the webstore!

So to get feedback on this new format, we're hosting a new contest here on the blog.  Three lucky knitters will each win a skein of Schaefer Anne yarn, color of their choice!

Want in?  Great!  Simply search through the SSYC webstore and answer the questions below, numbering then one through seven, and e-mail them to SSYCcontest@hotmail.com before NOVEMBER 15, 2006.  Include your full name, shipping address and phone number so that we can contact you if you win.  You only get one try to get all the answers correct, so make it count.  And no worries, you won't be added to any mailing list or database by entering the contest.

1. How many yards of yarn are in Opal's 6 Ply?  (hint: all the colors of 6 ply have the same yardage)

2.  Is Lana Grossa's, Meilenweit Wool Colortweed yarn machine washable?

3.  How many skeins of Interlacment's Tiny Toes do you need to make a pair of socks?

4.  What's the price of a Schaefer Anne pattern?

5.  Was our new website format easy to navigate?

6.  What accessories or notions would you like to see in our store?

7.  How did you first learn about this contest?

Just e-mail your answers to SSYCcontest@hotmail.com .  The winners will be announced here on the blog after they are contacted, so check back around November 20!

My mailbox overfloweth

Getting great mail is just like opening presents on Christmas morning.  You know there's something coming, but you're not exactly sure what. In the past 2 days, I have received some great mail!

Two days ago, I received my first pair of sock blockers from Becky!  Becky recently opened her own webstore, Leggy Creations, and she makes sock blockers.  Not just any sock blockers.  Themed sock blockers especially for you.  I chose nature as my theme, as before I opened SSYC, I worked in environmental education.  And like I mentioned above, this is the first time I have used blockers.  I decided that the thing that would improve my sock pictures the most is having them stretched out nicely to show off the detail, instead of picturing them in the crumpled heap.  Don't worry, I'll still show those sexy (not) Joe feet shots once in awhile.  Just to make him put on "girl socks" and whine about it.  And as I find myself knitting lacier socks, I really do need to start blocking them to show off the detail.  The second pic above is of the Meilenweit Mega Boot Stretch (color 714) socks I'm knitting for Joe's dad.

Yesterday, I received my box from my Knitters Tea Swap pal.  And oh, what a box of goodies it was!  Thank you so much,Susan!  And since I did such a bad job taking pics of the Chocolate Swap gifts I received (I just couldn't wait- I had to devour the chocolate!) as soon as got the box, I ran to get my camera.  Look how nicely everything is wrapped!  Just like Christmas morning.  Lovely tea, english breakfast and black tea with jasmine (I love jasmine!).  Chocolate covered caramel corn (gone), chocolate cookies (half gone), and Lindor chocolate truffles (gone, but shared with company).  And the yarn?  Something I have never tried before!  Fingering weight wool and tencel, in lovely muted fall tones, with a great shine.  What a wonderful package!

*look at the pic on the right- that's the teabag for the jasmine tea!  How cool is that?

Secret Pal 9 Questionaire- Beware... it's long!

So a week ago, I got an e-mail saying that I should post my Secret Pal 9 questionaire so that my soon-to-be-assigned pal could get to know me.  So now I'm finally getting around to it- sorry pal!... though I haven't gotten an e-mail about my pal yet, so I don't think he/she knows who I am yet.  So I'm still okay.  But here's more info about me than most of you need to know!!

1. What is/are your favorite yarns to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?  Well, duh, I like sock yarn!  But to be more specific, I like handpainted or solid sock yarn.  I like to knit the self-patterning yarns for others, but I don't like to wear them myself so much.  I think I'm really getting into nearly solid colors, or sock yarn with subtle color differences, as my sock knitting is going toward the lacey end, and I think that nearly solids look great with lace, or more intricate, patterns.  I don't like 100% synthetic fiber.  But I knit with 25% synthetic as much as I do 100% merino.  And I'm thinking about starting to knit a bit more lace, so I find myself looking at wool/silk or wool/cashmere combos for lace shawls.....

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?  Next to my couch is my knitting shelf (one shelf on a bookcase) that I keep things I use often.  Joe calls it my nest.  Whatever.  Books, magazines, patterns, yarn, current project, a drink of some sort, and a quart mason jar that holds scissors, a crochet hook, and needles.  I keep the needles in their packaging, and the mason jar keeps everything upright and out of the way.  Other than that, I have an udly fake leather case that holds my interchangable circs.  I don't use that much.  I guess I should really think about better storage for my needles.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?  My grandma Eloise taught me to knit when I was 7 or 8.  Since I'm 28 now, I guess I've been knitting for about 20 years!  But there was a long span of time, until about 4 years ago, that I rarely knit and did cross stitch sometimes.  I am, by no means, an advanced knitter.  I know a lot about sock yarn and sock knitting, but I think I'm an intermediate knitter.  I don't knit sweaters b/c I'm a big girl and my weight fluctuates.  I would be sad if I knit myself a sweater and I gained or lost weight and it didn't fit.  How's that for honesty.  I'm not the most patient person, so socks, scarves, baby clothes and baby blankets are good for me.  Though, like I said before, I can hear lace calling me and I might have to start a shawl.  Like this one.  Oh my...

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?  Nope.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.) I don't take baths, only showers. I really like candles.  I like herbal type scents, but not lavender or chamomile.  I like basil, rosemary, lemon verbena....  I don't like heavy scents or overly perfumed products.  I do like baking scents like vanilla cupcake, cookies, and things like that.  A lot.  I don't like coffee scented, even though I love a good cup of coffee.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?  Who doesn't have a sweet tooth?  If there is someone, give me a shout out, b/c I don't believe it!  Like everyone else, I like chocolate.  I don't like black licorice.  I would love to try something that is specific to where my pal lives.  Something I can't get anywhere.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?  My friend, Anne, tried to teach me to spin, but I was easily discouraged.  I cross stitch a bit- I recently finished a piece that looks like a Frank Lloyd Wright stained glass window, and I've been working on a celtic cross for quite some time.  It hasn't gotten any attention for about 8 months though!  I love to cook too.  I love recipe books and Alton Brown.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)  I love music. I listen to it in my car, on my iPod, and on the computer.  All the time, really. My favorite band is Radiohead.  I also like Tenacious D, Keane, Miles Davis, Beethoven,  the Jets, Arctic Monkeys, Cake, Coldplay, Beck, The Cure, Jill Scott, India Arie, Lauryn Hill (and the Fugees), Harry Connick Jr.  I listen to lots of jazz and classical too.  Probably that more than anything right now.  I listen to Quincy Jones Big Band Bossa Nova almost everyday.  My favorite piece of music is Beethoven's 7th symphony, second movement.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?  My favorites are blue and green.  I'm not a fan of bright and garish colors.  I like interesting color combos, as long as they aren't fluorescent.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?  It's me and my husband Joe.  No kids, no pets.  Just me and Joe.  We like each other quite a lot, so we don't have plans to ad anything/anyone to the house anytime soon!

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?  I do wear scarves, hats and mittens.  I like them to coordinate.  I don't think I have ever worn a poncho.  Wait, I was in an ice skating show when I was 10 and I think I wore one as part of a costume.  I'm affraid wearing one now would make me look like a tent.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?  Socks.  I also like knitting baby items and am thinking of doing more lace.  I just have to actually DO it.

13. What are you knitting right now?  Right now, I'm working on the 9th square of 16 for a log cabin blanket.  I'm almost done with a pair of socks for my father in law.  Nobody better tell him!!!  You know who I'm talking to!

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?  Of course!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?  All my socks I knit on Crystal Palace bamboo needles.  Never anything else.  Yet.  I use metal circs for larger projects.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?  Yes.  Both.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?  Oh, about a year.  I started a Debbie Bliss baby kimono quite a while ago and got sick of it.  I'll get back to it eventually, maybe.  I'm not too concerned.

18. What is your favorite holiday?  Thanksgiving or Christmas.  Mostly b/c of the food.  I mean, I like my family too, but I really like the food.

19. Is there anything that you collect?  I collect Jadite, the green milkglass from the 50's.  I *heart* it.  I also like pottery, b/c Joe's a potter.  You would think I would have a large yarn stash, but I don't!  I think b/c I get to buy so much yarn, and then sell it, I don't keep my own personal stash.  If I see something come from one of my vendors that I really like, I might make sure I keep one, but usually I don't.  I'm thinking of adding two skeins of the Shaefer Anne Elena Piscopia to my stash.  I think it would make a lovely shawl for fall.  And I do have some on Teyani's Sock Hop yarn waiting for me.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?  I only subscribe to Interweave Knits and Knitnet right now.  But I definitely like magazines.  I usually just buy them at Borders or something.  Oh, but I do have a subscription to Eating Well... if you haven't read it and you like cooking/eating, it's great!

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?  I'm always up for trying new things, but I can't think of anything in particular right now.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?  My feet are a twinge under 10 inches long.  About 9.75 inches.  Yeah, I'm a sock knitter.

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)  January 8

ACK!  THAT WAS LONG!  I need a nap.

Photo Album

I'm using Socktoberfest as a time to get many sock related things accomlished.... knitting socks, adding new sock yarn to the store, and adding a new photo album to my blog!  I have just finished a photo album of my socks from the past year or so... basically the socks I have knit since opening the store.  I'll keep adding more to the left sidebar album as I finish more projects.

When putting the photo album together, I realized that I kept nearly no photos of any of the socks that I knit before I started my blog.  A blog is great for many things, but it's perfect for archiving all your projects and details of each one.  I also realized that my photography skills really.....well... suck.  I'm bad.  I need to take some lessons or something b/c I'm just not good at taking pictures.  I think sock blockers would help, but so would some creative ability that I apparently don't have!  Some of you sock knitters have mad skills.  Me, not so much.

And I have finally gotten around to getting the customer's socks album ready.  Life seems to move at such a quick pace, and I keep meaning to get this and that done... then months pass and... well, you know how it is!  So if you have any photos of socks you knit using yarn you got from SSYC, feel free to e-mail them on, along with a brief description of the yarn used, pattern, and maybe who they were for and/or what you like about your socks.  And if you have a blog you want to share, I'll include that in the album with your pic as well.

**Oh, and Joe has allowed me to ad more yarn he has chosen for the Man's Man Sock Yarn album.  Keep in mind, Joe's pretty tame when it comes to color, and a man that you are knitting for may like colors that are much more bold.  At least I hope so.  Because, really, dark blue is able as bold as Joe goes.

Claudia Handpainted Yarn

You would think being surrounded by yarn all day would kind of dull my need to buy more.  Not so. Much like all yarn buyers and knitters, I constantly feel the need to acquire new yarn, start new projects, and see new things.  That's why I'm adding a new yarn to the line up.

Claudia Handpainted Merino

There is so much buzz on blogs and forums about this yarn.  I've been considering it ever since Claudia first opened her "doors", as one of my reps touted it as Koigu-licious.  But SSYC has added so many new lines since spring (Lorna's Laces, Schaefer, Meilenweit, OnLine), that I just didn't have the buying power to add another entire line. I don't see the point in adding a new line, and only carrying 6 colors.  What kind of selection is that?  If I'm going to carry a line of yarn, I want to be able to offer a great selection of color.  And so I'm doing just that.  Over 20 colors of Claudia Handpainted Merino fingering weight yarn will soon be shipped to Simply Socks Yarn Company.  This shipment includes some of the popular colors already in her line, as well as several of her newest colors.  And even more colors are to follow!

And if you have been waiting for the rest of the Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport to arrive, the wait is over!  All the nearly solid colors are now available in the store.  I still can't believe how squishy and soft this yarn is.  I'm considering it for some striped Christmas stockings.  Shown below; CB- China Blue, BR- Bold Red, BB- Blackberry

Best of Opal 6 Ply

SSYC has received our latest shipment from Opal Yarn!  Just in time for cooler weather, Opal has sent us all six of their new 6-Ply colors.  Opal Yarn calls this the "Best of 6 Ply" collection because they have turned 6 of their more popular 4-ply yarns into 6-ply.  The 6-Ply yarn is 50% thicker than the 4 Ply you may have used before.  So your socks will keep those toes all toasty this winter, but still fit into your sneakers.

FYI- For reasons unknown to me and the great ladies at the US Opal Distributor, the German manufacturer decided to give these colors all new numbers, instead of keeping their old numbers.  So, for instance, you may recognize Opal Brasil 5001 (which we carried months ago as 4 and 6 ply).  But it's not called/labelled 5001 in this collection.  That would be too easy. It's labelled as 1710.  No one knows why.  Maybe just to confuse us.  But Soxie, who does the images for the Opal Distributor, did make sure that the old number is on the very bottom left of each picture, so you also know what it was known as.

Good news first

I received my Chocolate Swap package from Carrie!  It was full of goodies, including: super-cute and tasty chocolate truffles in the shape of Halloween characters, chocolate hazelnut wafers (gone in 4 minutes), a vat of chocolate covered espresso beans, an espresso bean flecked chocolate bar, and wonderful Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb silk/wool yarn in Chino.  I have never used that yarn before! All wonderfully packaged in chocolate colored confetti.  It was a perfect package.  All that's left is the yarn and some of the chocolate covered espresso beans.  What are your favorite projects to knit with the Lion and Lamb?

I really hope that there is another Chocolate Swap, and SOON!  I mean, I completely understand that these are quite a bit of work to organize, but I really like the people I meet and buying chocolate for someone (and getting some!) is so fun!

My Great Aunt Evelyn died yesterday at noon.  She lived quite a long, and good life.  She is one of 11 kids in my Grandma's family.  Every summer, almost every week when I was in grade school, I would go up to the lake cottage with my grandparents and Great Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Willy.  We would fish, eat blue gill, and spend days in our bathing suits.  I would catch turtles and leave them in the tackle box all night, and then wonder where all the minnows were in the morning.

I remember Aunt Evelyn telling me that her favorite color is green.  She and Willy made a living with their small grocery store in Grabill, Indiana .  She spent every winter in Florida, and every summer in Coldwater, Michigan.  But not the weekend.  Because the speed boats made the fishing not-so-good, they came home on weekends.  The rest of the time, she lived here in Fort Wayne.  I went through photo albums yesterday with my grandma, and Aunt Evelyn kept meticulous photo records of weekends at the cottage, winter visits to Disney World, friends playing cards.  My Aunt was my grandma's last living sibling.  The last living person who was part of her family, other than the family she created with my grandpa.  She told me she's all alone.  What can you say to that?

So here's to Aunt Evelyn.  She rocked the knitting bag like no one's business.

It's all about the squares

It's the beginning of Socktoberfest and what do I do? I knit log cabin squares.  I'll get back to socks shortly, but right now, I'm consumed.  After finishing my Modern Baby Blanket from Mason Dixon Knitting, I needed more of that feeling.  The monotony of knitting garter stitch over and over and over....it's quite meditative.

So when SSYC got in the Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport yarn, I started a new log cabin project.  This project will most likely consist of 16 deliciously addictive squares, composed into a baby blanket.  There are so many people having babies- an old coworker, friends, and my sister-in-law (I'm going to be an aunt again!), so I'm preparing.  This blanket is a combination of 5 colors: Manzanita (for the center), Douglas Fir, Sunshine, Natural, and Sage- which is more a silvery blue rather than a green.  I adore this color combination so much that I have even considered redoing my bedroom in these colors.  Who am I kidding, my bedroom isn't really "done" anyway.  So let me rephrase it.  I'm considering doing my bedroom in these colors.  Ooops, our bedroom. 

Back to the blanket.  I'm using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport because a) it's super soft; b) the skeins are generous; c) the wide array of colors (more on the way this week) makes for some interesting color combos; d) the blanket will be machine washable.  Perfect combination. I cast on 12 stitches using 8 inch double point needles in size US 4 (I like using double point rather than single point for this), and the center square is 11 garter ridges (the ridge you get from knitting two rows).  Then, after I pick up stitches along the edge, I knit 7 garter ridges for each color.  I continue til I have used all the colors twice (with the exception of Manzanita, b/c it's just for the center square).  I anticipate using 2 skeins each of Sage, Douglas Fir, Sunshine, and Natural.  And one of Manzanita.  If I add an edging on the blanket, I anticipate using a second skein of Manzanita.  So this project of 16 squares should use 9 skeins of yarn, or 10 skeins if I do an edging, which I probably will to get a more finished look.

Knitting these blanket squares makes me appreciate the portability of socks.  This project?  Not so portable.  I lugged this project around with me to various appointments with Mom last Friday, and it wasn't so convenient.  Each wound ball of yarn was tucked into a plastic zip-top bag so that they wouldn't tangle with each other, and those were all put into my knitting bag, shown at left, (formerly my Great Aunt Evelyn's bag), with a tapestry needle, scissors, crochet hook, and a finished square for reference.  A sock is something I can just tuck into my purse!  A log cabin blanket takes an entire bag.  Which is why this is now a couch project.  But a delicious one.

Oh, whadduh you think of the knitting bag?  Horribly gaudy, or cool?

Special Lorna's Laces Colorways

Several months ago, I received an e-mail from a knitter who was looking for a light apricot/peach color in Lorna's Laces.  That color isn't part of their collection, so I decided to work with them to put together such a color. While we were at it, I decided add a couple more colors, and a few months later we have 'em!

The first two are Nearly Solid colorways, Apricot and Margarita.  The third is Simply Socks from the Striping collection, and it's a pink and chocolate combination, inspired by the SSYC logo colors.  Cool, eh?

These are now available in the store, and I will continue to order them.  These special colors took a bit longer to get than the normal 8-10 weeks, so you may see them be out of stock more often than other colors.  But they will continue to be part of our lineup.

Packages Ready

I've really enjoyed putting the packages together for the Knitters Tea Swap 2 and the Chocolate Swap.  Almost as much as I have enjoyed sampling the tea and chocolate just to make sure that they are of the highest quality.  I mean, I wouldn't want to send out anything inferior, would I?  No.  My tea-and-chocolate-picking-out reputation is on the line.  So I had to buy two of several of the tasty bits to do a little quality control.

Here's what's in the package for Carrie, which will be shipped to California tomorrow.  The chocolate swap isn't a secret swap- she knows that I'm the one spoiling her, but she doesn't know exactly what she's getting. Needless to say it includes a combination of two things.  Yarn.  Chocolate.

I really can't think of a better combination.  Yarn, martini, chocolate.  Maybe.  But I don't think that would ship well.

At right is a pic of the goodies I'm sending off to my Tea Swap pal.  As this is a secret swap, I have to wait to reveal who it's for until I know she's received it.  But I can show you what I'm giving her, because she doesn't know it's her, and probably doesn't read this blog anyway.  In her package is a combination of tea, cookies, a bit of chocolate, a tea infuser, Lorna's Laces yarn (a new Apricot color which I will have up on the site soon), and a mug, made by my husband Joe.  Joe's a ceramic artist.  The mug, also shown at below, came out of the wood kiln he built for University of Saint Francis, where he teaches.

It's a small mug, perfect for that 5-6 ounce cup of tea.  I hope my pal likes it.  I drink (and eat oatmeal) out of Joe's mugs every morning.

Many of the items I sent to Carrie and the secret tea pal came from Shipshewana, when I went there last weekend, and Our Daily Brew, which is a coffee/tea store I worked at in high school and college.  That place has the nicest coffee and tea selection than I have seen. So it wasn't hard to find some unique goodies there.

Now all I have to do is sit and wait to hear from the ladies that they have received their packages.  Oh, and receive mine.  More chocolate and tea to come!